The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-03-10
CHEESE.
The Proper Way of Making This Popular
and Salable Dairy roduc

We give below the mode of making
cheddar cheese, one of the most selling
in the market. The mornings and
evenings milk are together brought to
a temperature of about 80 deg. Fair.
If the night has been warm, a temper
ature of 70 deg. will give as great eff
fectiveness to a given quantity of rem
net as one of 80 deg. or 81 deg. would
give if the milk had been at a lower
temperature for some hours of a cold
night. The evenings milk, having
been placed in shallow vessels during
the night to cool, and having been STIR
red at intervals during the evening, is
skinned in the morning, and the
cream, with a portion of the milk, is
heated up to 100 deg. by floating it in
tin vessels on the boiler. The whole
of it is then poured through a proper
sieve into the tub-into which the
mornings milk is being also strained
as it arrives-so as to raise the whole,
as we have stated, to from 70 deg. to
80 deg. Fair.
The rennet, made from two or three
dozen wells. in as many quarts of salt
water, and allowed to stand three
weeks, is added-half a pint to 100 gal
lons-and the curd should set in about
an hour. The small wells (rennets) of
calves which are killed at a week old,
are preferred, and they should be
eighteen months old before use. The
curd is slowly cut with a single long
blade, to and fro, through its depth, in
lines forming a four-inch mesh upon
the surface, and the whole mass is
gently turned owe from the bottom
with a skimming dish and the hand.
The whole is then again worked
throughout with a shovel breaker
"a four-fingered paddle, with wires
across the fingers = great care
being taken to do it gently, so that the
whey shall not become too white. The
curd is thus broken up into pieces not
much larger than peas, and at least
half an hour is taken in the process.
Hot water is then let into the space
around and below the cheese tub, and
the whole is raised to 100 deg. Fahr.,
and this, too, very gradually, SO as to
raise the whole by degrees, not heating
any portion to excess. This may take
half ar hour. The hot water is then
drawn off and the curd is stirred by the
hand and a skimming dish for another
half hour in the midst of its hot
whey, being at length reduced to a
mass of separate bits the size of small
peas.
The whey, after settling for half an
hour, is then removed-ladled, sy-
phoned, or drawn-to its vat, where it
stands about six inches deep, and is
skinned next day, yielding a butter
which should not exceed in quantity
six to eight ounces per COW per week.
The curd stands half an hour after the
whey is drawn off, and it is often then
cut into four or five pieces and turned
over and left for half an hour, after
| which it is again cut and left for a
quarter of an hour. After this, it should
be in the slightest degree acid to the
taste. If allowed to become too acid,
it will not press into a solid, well-shaped
cheese, but it will be apt to sink abroad
misshapen. 1t is now torn into
pieces by hand, and left to cool; and
thereafter it is packed in successive
thin layers in the vat-a cylindrical
or wooden vessel twelve inches or
more wide and twelve inches deep
whence, after being pressed for half al
hour, it is taken out and broken up by
hand, and allowed again to cool
Then, when cool, and sour, and dry,
and tough enough Gall this, of course,
being left to the judgment of the
maker), it is ground up in the curd
mill, two pounds of salt being added
to 100 pounds of curd, and the whole is
allowed to cool, and, as soon as cold,
it is put in the vat and taken to the
press.
The pressure on the cheese may be
1900 to 1000 pounds. The cloth is
changed next morning. A cheese
cloth coating is laced on it the second
day, and on the third day the cheese
may be taken from the press, placed in
the cheese-room, bandaged, and turned
daily, and afterwards less frequently.
The cheese-room should be kept at
nearly IS degrees Fair. The cheese
will not be ready for sale for three
months; that is. it will not be in prime
condition for eating.-Farm, Field ana
| Stockman.